Desktop Support » Documentation » Plugins » ChemDraw

This is a super-basic tutorial designed for people who have never used any chemical drawing package before. If you have used ChemDraw before, you can skip this tutorial, since it is unlikely to tell you anything you don't already know. If you have used another chemical structure drawing program -- such as ISIS/Draw, ChemWindows, or ChemIntosh -- you can probably skip it as well.

This tutorial is designed so that you do not need to install the CS ChemDraw Plug-In to read it. However, if you want to perform some of the exercises presented in the following pages, you can open a separate window containing a live ChemDraw Plug-In. You can resize this second window and arrange it on your screen so that you can see it and the tutorial window at the same time. Remember, the CS ChemDraw Plug-In requires that both Java and JavaScript be active in your browser.

CS ChemDraw Plug-In Interface

There are three main parts to the ChemDraw Plug-In interface. The most important part is the Drawing Window, where you draw the actual chemical structures and reactions. This is where you will be spending most of your time.

The Pop-up Menu gives you access to the menu commands that would normally be present in the menu bar of the ChemDraw application. Most important are probably the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands on the Edit submenu, and the Open and Save commands on the File submenu. You will not normally see the pop-up menu, but you can cause it to appear under your mouse by right-clicking (Macintosh: control-clicking) anywhere in the Drawing Window.

The Tools Palette allows you to draw different types of atoms and bonds. This is the second-most important part of the ChemDraw Plug-In. The tools palette can be moved anywhere you like onscreen. Each time display a page containing the Plug-In, the palette will re-appear where you last left it.